When our bag for life became art…

Earlier this year, we were asked to help Tesco develop some wording for its latest ‘bag for life’ design (see 1, left). You can read about the project here.

As bags for life bearing the design were rolled out across the Tesco estate, they started to appear in high streets up and down the country. Given the bag’s message, it’s been gratifying to see well-used bags on their second or subsequent outing (2, left). It’s also been disheartening to see discarded bags – (3), left – a stark reminder that words can only go so far in inspiring people to consider the environment in their everyday behaviour. These differing reactions to the bag were of course expected, and unsurprising.

What has been more surprising is that the bag design has captured the imagination of the public, who have used it in a number of creative ways. On Instagram, two users posted photos of the bags hanging out to dry on their washing lines (images 4 and 5, left). And an account has been set up, featuring the bag design as the account profile photo (image 6, left).

And in our native Brighton, one of the team walked around a corner, only to discover that the bag design had been recreated and featured prominently in a piece of street art (image 7, left).

In our view, the more the bag design and its powerful message is featured across different media, the better, in the hope it will cause consumers to rethink their attitude to waste.